I don’t need time, I need a deadline.
DUKE ELLINGTONJazz today, as always in the past, is a matter of thoughtful creation, not mere unaided instinct.
More Duke Ellington Quotes
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The wise musicians are those who play what they can master.
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The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.
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People do not retire. They are retired by others.
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Self-discipline, as a virtue or an acquired asset, can be invaluable to anyone.
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Yet, every time God’s children have thrown away fear in pursuit of honesty-trying to communicate themselves, understood or not, miracles have happened.
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There are two kinds of worries – those you can do something about and those you can’t. Don’t spend any time on the latter.
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You have to stop listening in categories. The music is either good or it’s bad.
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Love is indescribable and unconditional. I could tell you a thousand things that it is not, but not one that it is. Either you have it or you haven’t; there’s no proof of it.
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There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind.
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I’m sure critics have their purpose, and they’re supposed to do what they do, but sometimes they get a little carried away with what they think someone should have done, rather than concerning themselves with what he did.
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Jazz is a good barometer of freedom.
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Of the One O’Clock Lab Band after hearing their performance, and sitting in with them at the White House: “I wish it were mine”.
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If you have a great band with a mediocre drummer, you have a mediocre band. If you have a mediocre band with a great drummer, you have a great band!
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My mother told me I was blessed, and I have always taken her word for it. Being born of – or reincarnated from – royalty is nothing Like being blessed. Royalty is inherited from another human being; blessedness comes from God.
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Selfishness can be a virtue. Selfishness is essential to survival, and without survival we cannot protect those whom we love more than ourselves.
DUKE ELLINGTON